I must have heard that line about a thousand times at this point, somehow there is this strange view that quiche is some sort of effeminate food that no proper man would touch for fear of developing breasts on the spot.

Well I happen to think that any man who is worried that his choice of food makes him look “faggy” has some issues that only a few sessions with a psychiatrist will be able to sort out.

Quiche is great!

You only have to take a cursory look at the basic components of a quiche to work out that this is food that is packing some serious flavours yet can still be light and delicate.

Quiche is also incredibly versatile; you can add pretty much anything you like into them and a quiche can be a great quick meal to knock up out of store cupboard staples or leftovers.

The simplest quiche to make is the ever popular quiche lorraine, which incidentally should NOT include onions. However I have decided to go for something a little more fancy and have included my recipe for one of my all time favourites: Chorizo and red pepper quiche.

Ingredients:

250g of good quality chorizo sausage

2 red bell peppers

1 clove of garlic

5 eggs

1 medium red onion

250ml double cream

250ml milk

125g gruyerre – you can use manchego if you want an authentic spanish cheese

3/4 tsp paprika

sea salt

black pepper

shortcrust pastry – shop bought pastry is fine but it is even better if you make your own.

Method:

Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic and set aside for later

Roll out your pastry to the correct size for the pie dish you are using and line the dish making sure it is well pressed into all of the nooks and crannies. Place the pastry lined dish in the fridge so the pastry can chill.

Stir together the milk and double cream before mixing in the eggs.

Grate the cheese and stir into the cream, milk and egg mixture until it is well incorporated, season with the paprika, salt and pepper.

Soften the diced onion and garlic over a low heat and place to one side to cool

Dice the chorizo and colour in a pan until it is lightly browned

Deseed the red peppers and slice into strips before mixing in with the chorizo, onion and garlic.

Take the pie dish out of the fridge and spoon in the mixture of chorizo, peppers, onion and garlic ensuring that it is well spread out and that all of the base of the pastry is covered.

Pour over the egg, cream and cheese mix and fill to the top of the pastry.

Bake in a 180 c oven for between 45 minutes and 1 hour or until the eggs have set and the top is golden brown.

It has come to my attention recently that pies are now trendy… don’t really know what to say about that as where I come from they have never really gone out of fashion but that is by the by.

The weather is drawing in and it is the time of year for something warming and that is exactly what this steak and mushroom pie is.

To make a pie that will feed 4-6 people you will need the following:

500g diced steak (round steak works well)

500g mushrooms (any old mushrooms will do)

2 large white onions

2 carrots

2 tomatoes

a good handful of parsley

1 clove of garlic

1 pint stout or porter

1/2 pint beef stock

500g shortcrust pastry

salt and pepper

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tabasco sauce

flour

make sure that the steak is diced into smallish cubes, if any seem too large then cut them until they seem about right, pop the cubes of steak into a bowl of seasoned flour and ensure that all of the chunks are well coated.

Heat some butter or lard in a large pan until it is just about smoking, now add the cubes of steak in batches until all of the meat is browned off.

Place the steak to one side until later, now add the diced carrots and onions to the same pan and cook until they are starting to soften.

Once the carrots and onions have softened add the diced tomatoes, chopped mushrooms and the chopped parsely to the pan along with the remainder of the flour from the bowl and all of the wet ingredients, stir together well and return the steak to the pan.

Cover the pan and leave to cook over a low heat for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Ensuring that your pastry is nice and chilled roll out enough to make the base of your pie and line your pie dish/an enamel plate with it. You will want to leave soem over hang so that you can make a good seal with the lid later on.

Place your pie dish/enamel plate into the fridge to keep the pastry cool and to prevent shrinking until you need it.

Once the filling has been cooking for 1 1/2 hours take it off of the heat and leave to one side for it to cool as you do not want to be putting the filling onto the pastry whilst it is still hot.

Brush the inside of the pie crust with beaten egg to stop it from going too soggy, now add your cooled pie filling into the pastry and make sure it is well spread and evenly filled, there is nothing worse then a big gap in your pie.

Brush some beaten egg around the top lip of the pie crust so as to form a seal and place the lid of your pie on top.

Make sure that you cut a hole for the steam to escape from during cooking, now brush the remainder of the beaten egg over the top of the pastry to give it a lovely golden colour.

Cook the pie for approximately 30 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to around 180 degrees. Once the pastry is golden brown on top the pie is ready.